Fighting Maharashtra lose to Gangpur

Pune: Last year’s runners up Haryana remained the only team to score back-to-back wins and remain unbeaten, while hosts Maharashtra put on a spirited performance before losing narrowly on Day 2 of the 9th Junior Men National Championship 2019 (Div ‘A’) at the Sports Authority of India, Western Training Centre, here on Monday.

Haryana’s 3-2 win over Jharkhand pushed them to the top-spot in Pool-B, while Maharashtra’s 2-1 loss to Gangpur-Odisha left the hosts without a point in Pool-C.

A brace from Ankush (4th, 36th) helped Haryana to take the lead first and sign off half time 1-0 in their favour and later swell their tally to 2-0.

Jharkhand, who won their opener, struck back in the third quarter through Anurud Bhengra (42nd) off a penalty corner) and later Raju Horo (45th) via a penalty stroke to level 2-2. Parmeet’s success from a penalty corner in the 52nd minute sealed victory for Haryana.

Manipur bounce back
In another Pool-B fixture, Manipur, after losing heavily on the opening day loss, did well for their 4-3 win against Mumbai, who played their first match of the tournament.

Manipur opened a huge 3-0 lead and powered to their first win by a brace of goals by Nirajkumar Waribam (19th, 47th) and Rohit Irengbam (28th, 32nd). Mumbai fought to cut the lead to 3-2 after Anil Rathod (38th) and Mohit Kathoute (43rd) gained success and added another via Mohit (52nd).

Delhi, Gangpur in lead 
In Pool-C, hosts Maharashtra struck another blank when they went down to Gangpur-Odisha 2-1 despite Venkatesh Kenche (28th) giving them the lead at half time. On the changeover, Gangpur-Odisha had other ideas and levelled when Amandeep Lakra (36th) converted a penalty corner, before Gregory Xess (51st) delivered the hosts the knockout punch.

Later Delhi, who drew their opener, handed Karnataka a 3-0 loss to go atop Pool-C on goal-difference.

Punjab win big
The day began with champions Punjab bouncing back with a convincing 5-1 win over Services in Pool A. Having lost on Day-1, Punjab showed urgency with Simranjot Singh (3rd, 7th) giving them an early advantage, before Services pulled one back via a penalty stroke conversion by Deepak (12th).

Tamil Nadu kept their clean run in tack with a 2-2 draw with Himachal Pradesh and take charge of Pool-a with 4-points. Day One hero for the southern unit, S Karthi (44th) and S Mareeswaran (48th) scored for Tamil Nadu, while Charanjeet Singh (57th) and Amit (59th) struck late to help Himachal bag a point from their opening game in Pool-A.

Results:
Pool-A: Punjab: 5 (Simranjot Singh 3rd, 7th; Vishaljit Singh 49th; Raman Kumar 53rd; Angadbir Singh 60th) bt Services 1 (Deepak 12th);  
Tamil Nadu: 2 (S Karthi 44th; S Mareeswaran 48th) drew with Himachal: 2 (Charanjeet Singh 57th; Amit 59th).
Pool-B: Haryana: 3 (Ankush 4th, 36th; Parmeet 56th) bt Jharkhand: 2 (Anurud Bhengra 42nd; Raju Horo 45th).
Manipur: 4 (Nirajkumar Waribam 19th, 47th; Rohit Irengbam 28th, 32nd) bt Mumbai 3 (Anil Rathod 38th; Mohit Kathoute 43rd, 52nd).
Pool-C: Gangpur-Odisha: (Amandeep Lakra 36th; Gregory Xess 51st) bt Maharashtra: 1 (Venkatesh Kenche 28th).
Delhi: 2 (Bharat 44th, 51st; Prashant 55th) bt Karnataka: 0.
Pool-D: Sports Authority of India: 1 (Saif Mohammed Khan 54th) drew with Punjab & Sind Bank: 1 (Harkawalbir Singh 53rd).